pregnancy...confused & bewildered

[wannabamommy]

Hi to anyone out there who can give me some peace of mind...

     Let me start by saying this...I WANT TO HAVE A BABY...BAD...REALLY BAD!!!!!!

I am 38 yrs old & not getting any younger...If you read my profile blog, you know a little about my past & my circumstances, but here is a brief rundown... I am now married to a wonderful man & we are wanting to add to our family. He has two children from his previous marriage, so I am a step-mom, but I have never had a child of my own, so we are trying to conceive. I dont know what to do with myself. I have so many questions & dont really know where to start....I think I am wanting a child so bad that I am giving myself a false pregnancy half the time. hahaha

Every month when I get my period, I get depressed. I have very regular periods, every 28 days. Every once in a while I may start a day or two early or late, but as we have been tracking it, it usually seems to be on a "new moon" when I start like that. I have monitored my ovulation cycle and it falls anywhere between 11-14 days after my period. Not to boast, but our sex life is very healthy, if you know what I mean, but we still have not been able to conceive. I haven't been to a fertility doctor because frankly they are just so darn expensive, so I started taking an over the counter pill call "FertileAid". I have a couple of friends who were also having problems conceiving and they got pregnant usuing it, so I figured why not try it, (I've tried everything else). This month my period started on Aug 1st, so by calculation I was suppose to start again on the 28th-29th. Well, of course with taking the "fertileAide"pill I was hoping to get prego and all this past week I have not been feeling like myself. Every day this week I have had some kind of a headache and a little bit of nausea. Monday it was just a regular headache, took some asprin, it went away. Tues. I had a migraine with alot of nausea, nothing helped not even crying or taking a nap. Weds. till now, everytime I am in transition from sitting to standing or vice versa, I get a little pain quick like headache, not so much dizziness but a little from time to time & I've noticed that my appitite has decreased, but my fatigue has increased. I was talking to my husband & he made the comment that maybe we finally got prego, so of course I got excited & anxious. Earlier today (the 26th) I went to the potty & when I wiped I noticed a little pink on the tissue. I thought GREAT!!!

:-(   I started. Usually when I start, it's pretty heavy flow and dark in color right from the get go, but thats not how this is. Brief rundown on how this has carried out so far...I got home at 3:30 this afternoon, pottied, wiped & saw the very light pink on the tissue. I got a little upset, but did as I usually do and put in a tampon. About an hour later I started getting another headache (mild) so I decided I would take it out. There was nothing on it...so I wondered...does this mean I am spotting (like some women do when they first get prego)? Again started getting excited. I went ahead and put on a pad, which over the past several hours has very little on it. Getting more excited now & more anxious!!!! What do I do? I know if I start thinking about being prego I get very excited. I am so tired of the disappointment and I dont want to feel that way anymore, not that I can really do anything about it if this turns out to be a reguular period.

I read an article on PlanningFamily.com about different signs of being prego. I am seeing alot of the signals, but it would still be about a week to early to take a test...also in the article it said that some women may even start to "feel pregnant". What does that mean? What does it feel like? I mean can anyone give me some examples other than tender breast, nausea & more frequent potty breaks?

I am so anxious, I guess that is why it is 3 o"clock in the moring & I am still awake writing this...I wish I knew more...any information would help...I guess that's all for now...thanks, Marie 

[Jaimee]

Welcome to MDC!!    You have come to the right place for advice and support!

Do you chart your basal body temperature to confirm O?  If so, can you share your chart?  If not, let's break this down a bit...

So you have about 28 day cycles and generally ovulate (O) on CD (cycle day) 11-14.  This would put your luteal phase (LP) around 14-17 days long.  Your LP is the time between O and your period (AF) and it should only vary by 1-2 days each cycle.  Your O day is what can vary quite a bit based on what is going on in your life.  A 17 day LP is very uncommon, but not impossible.  It is more likely that your O day is actually occurring a bit later than you think.  So your LP is likely closer to 14 days.

Do you have any further information as to when you O'd this cycle?  Do you recall fertile cervical fluid (CF) at any particular point?  Creamy or eggwhite in natural?  This will precede O by a few days and you will generally dry up directly after O.  Based on your post, I take it you had sex (DTD) pretty regularly throughout your fertile period?

So...

CD 1 8/1

CD 14-15 possible O period

CD 26 light bleeding/spotting, 11-12 DPO (days past ovulation)

CD 28 today, 13-14 DPO

CD 28-29 expected AF

Okay, if you can give me more info about your CF we may be able to pinpoint O better.  Implantation occurs between 6 and 12 DPO and 84% of the time between 8 and 10 DPO.  So it is unlikely that what you're experiencing is implantation spotting (which is quite rare anyway).  What you are likely experiencing is spotting prior to your period a few days earlier than expected due to hormonal fluctuations or it's spotting with pregnancy again due to hormonal fluctuations.  It is fairly common to spot around the time of expected AF when pregnant.  Many women experience symptoms around the time of implantation.  I know that I had nausea at 8 DPO with my first.  Other common early pregnancy symptoms are darker areolas, hyper sensitive nipples, a full feeling in the abdomen, bloating (!), and crushing fatigue.  But pretty much any PMS symptom is also a pregnancy symptom.

Some women get accurate results on home pregnancy tests (HPT's) as early as 8 or 9 DPO with early implantation, but most have to wait until later... usually around 12-14 DPO.  You are currently 13-14 DPO most likely and tomorrow you'll be 14-15 DPO.  You should get accurate results by now on an HPT.  It's not too early to test.   Go out and get a sensitive HPT that only requires an hCG level of 25.  First Response First Response is a reliable and popular choice.  But dollar store tests and generic drug store tests are just as good and cheaper.  Chose a pink test with two lines, not the +/- variety.  The line should be colored and show up within the proper time frame, otherwise you may be dealing with an evap.  If it's too faint to tell, get a digital test that only requires a level of 25 and test again with first of the morning urine (FMU).  The easiest way to take two tests in one morning is to pee in a cup and use the same urine for both tests so that you can use the super concentrated FMU for both.  Good luck and keep us posted!

[Jaimee]

Oh, and if you are not pregnant this cycle, I would highly recommend starting to chart!  Charting your basal body temperature and cervical fluid will tell you when you're fertile, when you O'd, how long your LP is, when to test, when to expect AF, if you're pregnant, and if there is anything of concern going on with your cycle.  If you're interested and need help getting started, just post!